RIO VERDE, Ariz. – With a second-round 301, the Illinois State Redbirds climbed a spot into fourth place overall at the 2022 Rio Verde Invitational, as the team was led again by sophomore Avalon Woodward's who shot an even-par round that kept her at a stroke under par through 36 holes in the tournament.
Behind rounds of 300 and 301, Illinois State's 601 has them fourth overall, behind only Kennesaw State's 582, Xavier's 585, and Cal Baptist's 597. South Dakota (602), Missouri State (604), Central Michigan (612), Bradley (614), Ball State (615), Akron (617), Eastern Michigan (620), Loyola (624), Oakland (624), Butler (626), Wichita State (626), Western Michigan (633), Bowling Green (641), and Ohio (654) round out the 18 teams in the deep field.
Woodward's second-round 72 has her with a 143 over the two rounds, in third place individually in the field. Ali Schrock's two-round total of 153 has her tied for 34th, while Vinisha Gunaseelan and Maria Toledo Bailey have matching 154's through two rounds, which is tied for 37th, while Kehler Koss' 156 has her tied for 43rd in the 92-golfer field.
Woodward, who opened on the par-four 11th hole started her day with a par, and back-to-back birdies to drop to two strokes under par. She never was above par on the day and closed her day with 10 consecutive pars to end the day with an even-par 72.
Gunaseelan had the team's second-lowest round on the day with a three-over 75, a round that saw a birdie and 13 pars, with four bogeys peppered in the day.
Koss rebounded from a first round with a second-round 76, four strokes over par, that had a birdie and 13 pars.
Birmingham, England, native Toledo Bailey was the team's fifth golfer, as she had an up-and-down round with two birdies – tied for the second-most on the round for ISU – to go with nine pars and seven over-par holes. Schrock's final-round 79 saw two birdies and nine pars on the day.
For the third and final round tomorrow – teeing off at 9:30 a.m. CT – the Redbirds tee off alongside South Dakota and MVC foe Missouri State. The shotgun start will see ISU open the day between holes 4-6.
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